McDonald's quality food at 4-star prices. Sure the view is nice, but you will only enjoy this microwave TV dinner-quality food if you have the palate of a goat. Don't waste your money here ... Let us foodies hope that this ship sinks and a real fine food establishment takes over!
(1)
Monk E. R.
Great view, lousy food, ridiculous pricetag. It's like hospital food cooked by mental hospital inmates except those guys probably have access to a spice rack. Avoid. If you have to come here, get a drink, finish it, then leave and never return. If you're biking by and are hungry, keep biking. Seriously. How this place stays in business is one of the Wonders of the World. They should tear the place down and sow salt so no restaurant ever grows here again.
(1)
Francesco L.
This is truly a first for me. Here's my story... I emailed Cedar Knoll on Lucia Ln. to make a reservation for 2 and a Leslie P. confirmed to me via email that the reservation is set on the 28th of April @ 7pm which is a MONDAY. On the day of the event, I called to confirm my reservation (just to be sure) and the lady on the phone told me that they were normally CLOSED on MONDAYS. They were only open that day for a private event. Needless to say, I was NOT HAPPY with this LESLIE P. I called her and told her that I WAS NOT impressed with her at all. I wanted to say more but.... WHAT AN INCONVENIENCE!!!! All this and I haven't even set foot in this place!!!! Ms. Leslie told me she was going to mail me a coupon/voucher for the trouble. It is now May 12 and no coupon (of course) Not surprised there. I'm baffled how CK is still in business. Ms. Leslie needs to sharpen up on the PROPER CUSTOMER SERVICE attitude. DID I SAY THAT I HAVEN'T EVEN SET FOOT IN THAT PLACE? This one sticks out as an extreme FAILURE in the restaurant business.
(1)
Len S.
My wife and I ate here today but would not go back. We had driven by on the way to Mt Vernon and were captured by the look of a nice view the restaurant had. We wanted to sit outside and have something to eat and drink coffee and look out at the water. While it did have a nice view, the food and service were not up to par. I ordered a french onion soup which I had been craving for some time. The soup was just ok. I do not believe it had any liquor in it which gives the soup a richer flavor. I think the soup was broth and onions. My wife ordered a apple caramel dessert which was decent. I was in desperate need of coffee when I arrived at the restaurant so after drinking a cup, I wanted another but couldn't find a waiter as the restaurant wasn't busy. I waited patiently at first but finally got up and had to go find my waiter and ask for the coffee. He sent someone else to the table with decaf coffee. I protested and sent this waiter back to get me real coffee, he came back and had obviously got a chip on his shoulder now over me sending him back to get real coffee. He quickly brought the check and never said anything else to me or my wife. Not an apology or a thank you. The waiter never asked if our food was ok. The wait staff here doesn't care. I gave my complaint to the manager when I left that the waiter was rude. He thanked me for telling him and rushed off to talk to the waiter. What struck me though as the manger ran off is that he never apologized either for the rude behavior of the waiter or for our unpleasant experience. Advice - don't get lured into this place by their view. Find somewhere else to go.
(1)
Andrew P.
I used to give extra stars to restaurants that aren't chains but I've stopped. This restaurant is only worth 2 stars. One of the napkins at our table had lipstick on it. The carpets gave the restaurant a semi-disgusting feel. It was a historical place so that was kind of nice. I got a burger and fries. The fries were below average and so was the burger. I would recommend this restaurant for someone that wants to eat in a log cabin.
(2)
March E.
I was riding my motorcycle down GW parkway this weekend when I saw this place and decided to check it out. The lunch menu had a good selection of tapas like appetizers, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. My friends and I decided to go with the sandwiches (Reuben, Cuban, and Chicken Teriyaki), which were all yummy. I recommend this place if you're looking to hangout outside and enjoy the view of the Potomac. (I would actually give this place 3 1/2 stars just for the outside seating)
(3)
Katie M.
I wouldn't make the trek down GW Parkway solely for Cedar Knoll Inn's food, but I would for the scenery. Sitting among the gorgeous Bellview mansions, this restaurant has prime real estate overlooking the Potomac. When you visit I recommend that you bypass sitting in the stuffy grandma-looking indoor dinning room and head straight for the back patio. Here you can enjoy a good cocktail and on a nice day you will most likely see tons of bicycle riders riding along the Mt. Vernon Trail. Overall I wouldn't go out of my way to hit this place up but if you are an avid cyclist then its a good place to break for lunch.
(3)
Andy S.
nice view, historic location but rest of the story is sad. Chicken quesidillas with still partly frozen (Costco?) guacamole. Fried tasteless calamari. HALF beautiful gorgeous looking roasted duck with peach sauce which was completely bland. A complete waste of HALF a duck. BTW, who can eat HALF a duck in one meal? Historic building in shambles... spring cleaning please. So much potential, so little realized.
(2)
Amanda W.
Awesome view...great food! I don't know what the others are talking about...maybe the staff has taken previous suggestions to heart. We never had empty glasses for more than a minute or two. Water, beers and ice tea were constantly refilled by several attentive members of the waitstaff. The food was all great! We had the empanadas, baked brie, chicken amelia, roast duck with fresh fruit, angel hair pasta with mussels and shrimp, and pasta romano with alfredo sauce and chicken. We all cleaned our plates! Inside did seem a little stuffy, but it was a beautiful day so we knew we wanted to sit outside! Next time I have guests in town we'll gladly head back! Hope others will give it try again!
(5)
Emily C.
I live a mile from here and have been twice. Bad food. Great view. ONLY GO HERE FOR BEER....wine tasted old. I don't feel like wasting any more energy
(1)
Benny R.
How is this place still in business? Terrible food. Horrendous service. Absurd prices. Pathetic and run down ambiance that screams 'we just don't give a f**k.' What a waste of a beautiful setting. When eating at Cedar Knoll, one feels like an extra on the set of Kitchen Nightmares, and half expects Gordon Ramsay to come barreling out of the kitchen to upbraid the owners of this run down dump.
(1)
Dave S.
Just adding my $.02 in hopes of driving Cedar Knoll down from two stars to one, which is all it deserves. It's criminal that a place with such a great view has such awful, unimaginative food and has the nerve to charge two prices for it. It's a clear indication that you're dealing with a catastrophe when the menu is all over the place. If there's any justice, this place will tank and someone with vision will step in and realize the potential this place has.
(1)
Anne I.
I give up! It's my 3rd time and I was hoping for something better. But, no. The view is the only good thing about this restaurant. Terrible service and it wasn't even crowded (4pm on a Sunday). The food was overpriced and not very good. Even simple things like bread -- hard/stale. Never got water refills. Had to get up from table and track down a waiter for water, coffee, desert. This is such a waste and lost opportunity. Why aren't they leveraging this location and upgrading/renovating -- maximize on the GW history, etc. Somebody please take over this restaurant and make it shine!
(1)
Carolyn P.
Empty... beautiful view of the Potomac, but lacks to hold my interest. Could be a great place, but for now its nothing special.
(2)
Katherine S.
The service here is awful! We called and made reservations after looking at their hours on their website which says that on Sundays they are open until 8 pm. So we made reservations for 7 pm and requested outdoor seating to enjoy the view and maybe a bit of the sunset. When we arrived at 7 pm, the doors were locked. A gentleman came and opened them and said that they were closed. When I told him we had a reservation at 7 pm he said we were lying and pointed to the sign that said they close at 7 on Sundays. I asked to speak to a manager and was told the only manager was out of town for the next three weeks. I asked if there was anyone else I could speak with the man said that the owner does not take "personal" calls. I'm still confused how this would be considered a personal call. Finally, another gentleman came by and said that they had a new hostess who did not know their hours and must have gotten confused because he had seen our reservation in the book earlier in the evening. They had our phone number so I'm not sure why nobody called when they realized the error. I understand that the restaurant was closed and it was a mistake but the staff was not at all apologetic. We don't live close to the restaurant but wanted to enjoy the patio so we made a datenight out of it, got a babysitter, got dressed up only to be disappointed and treated very rudely. So we drove into Old Town and ate at "The Warehouse" which never disappoints!
(1)
Jonathan B.
Why...Why...Why.. The building and the location make this place such a sad story. So much potential..Wish I could just buy them out and run it right! Food...overprice for not even mediocre food... The inside looks like something you would see in a non updated military dining facility. Very blah.... The view is great of the Potomac...ONLY think to stop here if you want to sit outside and have a beer. Anything more, you are being ripped off. Suggestions: 1. New chef...You need interesting and quality food... 2.Gut the restaurant and redo with some taste...(hire my wife, she has a gift for interior design) 3.Make the patio a little more charming.
(1)
Andy W.
In urgent need of a Gorden Ramsey Kitchen Nightmares makeover. The decor and menu would have looked stale in 1975, and the view doesn't make up for unbelievably overpriced everything and exceedingly dire food. The waiter, however, was charming and did his best with what he had (which was a great view and possibly the worst chef in the DC metro area). In. Need. Of. A. Major. Overhaul.
(1)
Scott V.
So, here's the skinny. We stopped on our bicycles off the Mt. Vernon bike path, because we were hungry. We had probably the worst reubens of our lives. They were overly greasy, and it was the cheapest corned beef imaginable.The waitstaff was inattentive, and our water glasses were empty most of the time. Basically, if you want to eat and see the Potomac, bring a sandwich to the park just down the road.
(1)
Susan S.
Although the view is lovely, the food is not. I ordered the 12 ounce Angus steak. It was the worst steak I ever had; Outback was a lot tastier. The waiter offered me another selection. I chose the mussels and shrimp with pasta. The mussels had sand in them. The service is great but the food given the price is not worth it.
(1)
Carol K.
The views alone should give this bit of history located on the Potomac River 4 stars. But on my recent visit- the service left something to be desired and the food was only "so-so" although the people in our group who got the Reuben thought it was pretty good. Historic Cedar Knoll is located on land that was part of George Washington's plantation back in the mid 1700's. The house was actually built in the 1800's as a farmhouse for the then "tenant" farmers who worked the land. Obviously much has changed since that time- but the great location overlooking the water has not. We came for lunch on a beautiful day and were seated at the plastic tables on the river side. Seems to me that a place with this much history and in being the only place to eat on the river along the parkway would be so much better than this. Even the name evokes a nice place. But it's really just okay. The plastic outside tables reminded me of a snack bar and the menu- while it tries to cover a lot of ground- is ambitious at best. If there is a positive- it's that there are people dressed in "anything goes" from bikers biking the Parkway to business people having lunch to the tourists stopping in from Mount Vernon. So it is not pretentious in any way. Service was not good. Our server rushed us and kept asking us if we were done. I get that he probably wanted to go home but we were there to catch up over a leisurely lunch that didn't feel leisurely at all. As i mentioned- the sandwiches seemed to be the win at our table. My pork loin was covered in gravy (I asked for any sauce to be on the side) and another's steak came with potato wedges and not the mashed potatoes as was stated on the menu. But the food was okay even if it wasn't exactly the way we wanted. All in all- it was okay. I got a view of the river, something in my stomach and we were outside on a beautiful day. But I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again!
(3)
Lisa P.
This restaurant is a waste of an historic property and lovely view. My family went there for Easter. I barely know where to begin on how bad the food was. Easter Brunch was $24. The "fresh" fruit cup was canned fruit cocktail. Eggs were all overdone. Omelet was burnt. Eggs Benedict had hard yolk. We waited an hour for food, and when it came, two of the orders were incorrect. Easter dinner options included frozen vegetables and premade, previously frozen veal marsala. Chicken stuffed with cheese and ham was similar to the frozen version you get at the grocery store. Cream sauce on chicken was actually pretty good, but the chicken was paired with mashed potatoes drenched in a brown gravy. Service was slow, and unfriendly. Stay far away.
I had high expectations for this place, only to be extremely let down. I don't mean to be overcritical and superficial, I have never been so moved to write a review. The Thanksgiving dinner there was atrocious! We paid way too much for this kibble. I expected the food to taste better than a frozen microwaved dinner. The salmon was undercooked and overseasoned in a drenching sauce. The turkey was rubbery, string beans undercooked, instant mashed potatoes way too salty, stuffing was a pile of goo, all doused in thick giblet gravy. Hiding the food in thick heavy sauces does not make it taste better, people. Dessert, which consisted of apple, pumpkin, or pecan pies, was of a poor consistency, too sweet, and third rate, again drenched in liquidy runny whipped cream. The service was passable and the waiters tried to be attentive. Kitchen nightmare makeover candidate!
(1)
Chris F.
Just not worth it....food, service, decor...all poor. What a shame.
(1)
Thad Z.
Nice spot to sit outside for a glass of wine or a beer. But inside, the food is barely average, the service is slow, and the atmosphere is dismal. There's a real opportunity here for someone to take it over and be successful...but it needs a total makeover and new kitchen staff. Where's Gordon Ramsey when you need him??
(2)
Mick A.
I tried to submit this review with zero stars but you have to give it at least one. Cedar Knoll is one of the worst places I've had the misfortune of visiting. Bread rolls were like last week's leftovers, and only one small roll person at that. Food was not good at all. Slow, reluctant service. Expensive. This place is waiting to die.
(1)
Minjae O.
My in-laws like to take their parents for the view, so we go to Cedar Knoll once in a while for brunch. The drive down on GW Pkwy is quite pleasant (and treacherous when trying to look at other people's nice houses along the way) and the view from their indoor dining room, as well as the outdoor patio, is great. That said, the food is so so - kind of like a second tier wedding reception food, and the place actually does weddings too, I think. While the wait staff tries hard, I do have to say the service here leaves something to be desired. I realize I'm not at a five star restaurant when dining at Cedar Knoll, but I wish the waiters would at least make the effort to serve and clear dishes without making so much noise, slamming the spoon down on my coffee saucer and hitting one plate with another to an unwelcomed harmony of brunch dishes crying in pain. "Delicate" is definitely not in their vocabulary. Like folks already said, if you happen upon it while going up and down GW Pkwy, it might be a nice place to stop by for a drink or snack, but I wouldn't go there unless you were truly in good company and willing to overlook the deficiencies of the place. Free parking is available in the back for those of you who drive.
(3)
Lyns M.
The Service: We found this restaurant on a review website which stated the food and service were terrible, but the view was great. We took our chances and called ahead to ensure our two small dogs were allowed on the patio. Upon arrival, the host was extremely hesitant to seat us because we had dogs and informed us that the patio area was "full" when there were multiple clean/available tables. Another employee overheard and told the host that there was a table available outside and advised where to seat us. After we ordered (2 entrees & an appetizer) we had to ask for bread then confirm that we had in fact ordered two entrees AND an appetizer. Overall, the wait staff was nice with the exception of the host. The food: Terrible. The two small rolls they brought out were rock HARD. I gave up trying to break it open the roll when I couldn't do it with a knife or both hands. The hummus was bland and way too watery. My boyfriend's turkey burger and fries bland. The eggs benedict I ordered (without specifying how I wanted the eggs cooked) was bland and nearly hard boiled - not runny at all like EB should be. The day after: I had terrible GI issues for 3 days following lunch here. I will never eat here again, nor would I recommend this place to anyone for anything other than a bottled beer while enjoying the view. Somebody call Gordon Ramsay. STAT. This place has potential.
(1)
Cynthia H.
I visited this place on a Sunday night with reservations. The place was very empty and there wasn't many people on staff. The menu had a good selection to choose from. I chose the summer on a plate with chicken. This was a large sized salad but it didn't taste as good as it sounded. The chicken came too salty and the sauce on the chicken did taste good with the salad. The service was great! We were attended to frequently, and our food came quite quickly. The bread rolls they served were not that great, but the appetizers were quite different and are worth a try. We had calamari and stuffed jalapenos which were a good selection to start the night. The staff sang happy birthday to my sister even though the restaurant was empty. I would recommend giving this place a try although the other reviewers do not seem to like it much.
(4)
Warren P.
I'd previously given a positive review here. Though I'd noticed negatives, they seemed prompted by the decor and little else. My family had recently had an event here about two months ago. First, the events manager was rarely accessible, often didn't respond to e-mails, and though she repeatedly promised to show up and provide for extremely reasonable requests, she only appeared when it was time to pay the bill. The owner/manager was exceptionally rude to my wife, my sister in law, and my family. She not only refused to accommodate any of the repeated, reasonable requests which we agreed upon in our e-mails, but refused to comply with them until we were persistent. Even the pastry chef who'd brought their cake here said they'd never encountered that kind of attitude of the manager here.This was on the day of the event, mind you. The food was still good, I was surprised to find. However, the restaurant didn't staff enough, so the waiters had trouble managing the tables and handling any requests. At my own table, we had to repeatedly request coffee, sugar, and cream; they had ran out of them at some point near the end of our time there. While my family and friends still had a good time, it was in spite of this place. It's in a beautiful setting for spring and summer events, and it's very close to the Mount Vernon historic site, but now that's all I can say in its favor.
(1)
Michelle S.
Pros: Location- directly across from the river- beautiful spot and the Eggs Benedict was yummy!! Cons: price of eggs benedict was over the top...I beleive it was $26, came with some potatoes and a fruit cup which I enjoyed but not for that price. I think $10.99 would have been more appropriate ($20+ I expect a buffet or something.... If the prices were more resonable I would return.) **Our waiter was nice but seemed lost-running all over the place to get items in the right persons spot..it wasn't busy so I dont get it. On another note my husband and i both asked for water when we were placing drink orders....even after reminding the waiter we only got one of the 2 waters...then My husband and I would have had another mimosa too ( I didnt taste any alcohal either-too bad...but I was never asked if I wanted more and saw the guy to be able to ask for more Needs a facelift...they could really showcase the place and make it a hot spot:)I hope they do, it has potential :)
(2)
R K.
Like many other reviewers I saw this restaurant off to the right as I was driving down to Mt Vernon and thought it might be a charming place for our group of 9 (4 young children). Had I only thought of researching Cedar Knoll on Yelp before walking in! The food was not bad, but overshadowed by terrible service. Two of the four toddlers received their food and it took more than a half hour to serve the other two (let alone the additional 15 minutes it took for the adults to be served). Inattentive staff and not a mention of an apology drove this review to a single star. It might be a picturesque place to have a beer and not tax the kitchen, but I will never know.
(1)
Laura G.
Zero stars, where are you? Horrible service. Bad food. Overpriced. Small, fruity, unappetizing sangria is $9! Insane. Basic salad with a bad dressing was the same price. My husband's salad came 15 minutes before he was given silverware. Very disappointing because this place has such potential. Steer clear!!! Pack a picnic and dine on their lawn. Much more enjoyable:)
(1)
Boris S.
Chicken Cordon Blue $9 (2/5 NOMs) Everyone was ordering it and I just wanted to be like all the cool kids. I don't know, I was expecting a nice soft chicken with cheesy goodness. Sadly this was very bland and not cheesy gooey at all. There is plenty of cheese, it just had no swissy cheesy flavor to it. Chicken tasted dry and ham was completely overpowered by everything else. I think its a first time I didn't finish my lunch. Not something I will order again.
(2)
Yasu Yori O.
We always go to this restaurant to sit outside on a beautiful day to watch the boats go by on the Potomac. We went for lunch today and it's the same dish I have--Tortilla Espagna with a glass of wine. I am a foodie so I know what some of the reviews are all about. Since it sits on a beautiful place, I wish Restaurant Eve or Inn of Little Washington would take over and make the place into a foodie destination. I am o.k with the service. I wish the food would be better to match the view.
(2)
Liz G.
Super Meh. This was the closest place we could find near Mt. Vernon. Great view, but both the menu and the decor desperately need a facelift. the menu is all over the place, with an assortment of overpriced pasta dishes and Latin American appetizers. Weird. We started with hummus, which was just okay. I ordered the 'summer salad' (black beans, corn, tomatoes, red pepper, with a lime dressing) and couldn't eat more than two bites. Fortunately, the bf was willing to trade me his super sub-par Caesar salad. My dad had the quesadilla, which looked incredibly bland, and actually kinda sad on the plate. This place could seriously benefit from a Gordon Ramsey-esque intervention. The service was fine, but like, the food. Seriously... I would love to go to this place again, if they could pump up the menu. Also, they are definitely closed between 3pm and 5pm on the weekends.
(2)
dawn C.
Location, location, location! If you want to sit OUTSIDE and enjoy a BEER, look at the Potomac, and possibly see an eagle or two - it can be lovely (if you overlook the lackluster tables & decor - even outside). But don't order ANYTHING else, the food is awful, and the mixed drinks just aren't right! If the owners would call Gordon Ramsay to do a complete menu and decor makeover, or sell it to someone who cares - this place could be a real hot spot! Such a WASTE of a wonderful location.
(1)
Pete A.
No no no. I didn't want to go based on previous reviews but my friends were meeting there for lunch and agreed the food might not be great but the view was worth it for a few drinks. Sure the view is good, but that's it! Fried calamari appetizer was swimming in grease and the thirty or so odd pieces were stuck together to about 4 nasty clumps. 2 of my friends got a blue moon, one had an orange slice the other didn't. Cuban sandwich was poor. Granted I lived in Tampa where the Cuban sandwiches are rock star, but this was just bad. Crunchy piece of meat that shouldn't have been crunchy, seemed like they used garlic bread, mushy pickles, no saving grace. The French fries were mushy and soaked in grease as well. Halfway through our meal the umbrella on our outdoor table blew down with a gust of wind along with several neighboring tables. Even though the employees saw this happen, they were perfectly content allowing all of the patrons retrieve the umbrellas and fix them rather then lend a hand at all. The interior, forget it. This place needs a 100% overhaul. Location is great and the historic bones of this place are screaming for someone to come in and hit the reset button!
(1)
John K.
Having lived near this place for a while and having seen it from the GW Parkway, we thought we would give it a try. Here's the short: WASTE OF TIME--FOR NOW. This gets two stars for the view. Period. While the staff were initially attentive, they quickly forgot about us despite the half-full venue. I think the problem is that this place caters to an over-70's crowd that yearns for their childhood dining experiences. Seriously, the only clientele here were elderly and retired. Which is exactly what this restaurant gave us: an experience that needs to move on down to Boca Raton. We shared a meat-stuffed potato concoction that had very little flavor. In fact, the salad/veg decorating the plate was the best part of the appetizer, but even that was over-dressed. We then split a fruit-dressed duck. Let's call it duck a la orange (a popular dish from the 70's) for all the fancy descriptions in the menu. The duck was overcooked and dry, the sauce was bitter. It was as though orange rinds were the feature of the dish, not the duck. The dessert menu was alarming-- WHO in their right minds puts pictures of food on their menu??? My experience in Europe tells me: crap restaurants who cater to uninspired tourists. These are the places that need pictures. Good eateries don't. However, check out Cedar Knoll website-- yep, lots of pictures of food, each plate with its own dusting of decorative lawn clippings on the rim. I digress, we got the apple tart for dessert, it was okay but had a slight tang that told me it might have been heated straight out of the freezer. Two thumbs sideways. This is a place with a phenomenal location and view, half-decent decor, *okay* staff, and unimaginative expensive food. I hope that the owners will wake up soon and learn how to run a proper establishment, OR that it shuts down and someone new takes over. Please. One day I would love to be able to eat phenomenal food, with that incredible view, and I would be willing to pay a lot for it too.
(2)
Evan T.
My first impression was that the menu was far too large and the number of customers far too small (we were the only table on a Saturday night) for the food to be fresh. This was confirmed. Each plate had the same linguini and steamed (frozen) broccoli. It would've been (marginally) okay if they just called it like it was and charged $8 for the TV dinner instead of $20.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Dogs Allowed : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Joseph J.
McDonald's quality food at 4-star prices. Sure the view is nice, but you will only enjoy this microwave TV dinner-quality food if you have the palate of a goat. Don't waste your money here ... Let us foodies hope that this ship sinks and a real fine food establishment takes over!
(1)Monk E. R.
Great view, lousy food, ridiculous pricetag. It's like hospital food cooked by mental hospital inmates except those guys probably have access to a spice rack. Avoid. If you have to come here, get a drink, finish it, then leave and never return. If you're biking by and are hungry, keep biking. Seriously. How this place stays in business is one of the Wonders of the World. They should tear the place down and sow salt so no restaurant ever grows here again.
(1)Francesco L.
This is truly a first for me. Here's my story... I emailed Cedar Knoll on Lucia Ln. to make a reservation for 2 and a Leslie P. confirmed to me via email that the reservation is set on the 28th of April @ 7pm which is a MONDAY. On the day of the event, I called to confirm my reservation (just to be sure) and the lady on the phone told me that they were normally CLOSED on MONDAYS. They were only open that day for a private event. Needless to say, I was NOT HAPPY with this LESLIE P. I called her and told her that I WAS NOT impressed with her at all. I wanted to say more but.... WHAT AN INCONVENIENCE!!!! All this and I haven't even set foot in this place!!!! Ms. Leslie told me she was going to mail me a coupon/voucher for the trouble. It is now May 12 and no coupon (of course) Not surprised there. I'm baffled how CK is still in business. Ms. Leslie needs to sharpen up on the PROPER CUSTOMER SERVICE attitude. DID I SAY THAT I HAVEN'T EVEN SET FOOT IN THAT PLACE? This one sticks out as an extreme FAILURE in the restaurant business.
(1)Len S.
My wife and I ate here today but would not go back. We had driven by on the way to Mt Vernon and were captured by the look of a nice view the restaurant had. We wanted to sit outside and have something to eat and drink coffee and look out at the water. While it did have a nice view, the food and service were not up to par. I ordered a french onion soup which I had been craving for some time. The soup was just ok. I do not believe it had any liquor in it which gives the soup a richer flavor. I think the soup was broth and onions. My wife ordered a apple caramel dessert which was decent. I was in desperate need of coffee when I arrived at the restaurant so after drinking a cup, I wanted another but couldn't find a waiter as the restaurant wasn't busy. I waited patiently at first but finally got up and had to go find my waiter and ask for the coffee. He sent someone else to the table with decaf coffee. I protested and sent this waiter back to get me real coffee, he came back and had obviously got a chip on his shoulder now over me sending him back to get real coffee. He quickly brought the check and never said anything else to me or my wife. Not an apology or a thank you. The waiter never asked if our food was ok. The wait staff here doesn't care. I gave my complaint to the manager when I left that the waiter was rude. He thanked me for telling him and rushed off to talk to the waiter. What struck me though as the manger ran off is that he never apologized either for the rude behavior of the waiter or for our unpleasant experience. Advice - don't get lured into this place by their view. Find somewhere else to go.
(1)Andrew P.
I used to give extra stars to restaurants that aren't chains but I've stopped. This restaurant is only worth 2 stars. One of the napkins at our table had lipstick on it. The carpets gave the restaurant a semi-disgusting feel. It was a historical place so that was kind of nice. I got a burger and fries. The fries were below average and so was the burger. I would recommend this restaurant for someone that wants to eat in a log cabin.
(2)March E.
I was riding my motorcycle down GW parkway this weekend when I saw this place and decided to check it out. The lunch menu had a good selection of tapas like appetizers, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. My friends and I decided to go with the sandwiches (Reuben, Cuban, and Chicken Teriyaki), which were all yummy. I recommend this place if you're looking to hangout outside and enjoy the view of the Potomac. (I would actually give this place 3 1/2 stars just for the outside seating)
(3)Katie M.
I wouldn't make the trek down GW Parkway solely for Cedar Knoll Inn's food, but I would for the scenery. Sitting among the gorgeous Bellview mansions, this restaurant has prime real estate overlooking the Potomac. When you visit I recommend that you bypass sitting in the stuffy grandma-looking indoor dinning room and head straight for the back patio. Here you can enjoy a good cocktail and on a nice day you will most likely see tons of bicycle riders riding along the Mt. Vernon Trail. Overall I wouldn't go out of my way to hit this place up but if you are an avid cyclist then its a good place to break for lunch.
(3)Andy S.
nice view, historic location but rest of the story is sad. Chicken quesidillas with still partly frozen (Costco?) guacamole. Fried tasteless calamari. HALF beautiful gorgeous looking roasted duck with peach sauce which was completely bland. A complete waste of HALF a duck. BTW, who can eat HALF a duck in one meal? Historic building in shambles... spring cleaning please. So much potential, so little realized.
(2)Amanda W.
Awesome view...great food! I don't know what the others are talking about...maybe the staff has taken previous suggestions to heart. We never had empty glasses for more than a minute or two. Water, beers and ice tea were constantly refilled by several attentive members of the waitstaff. The food was all great! We had the empanadas, baked brie, chicken amelia, roast duck with fresh fruit, angel hair pasta with mussels and shrimp, and pasta romano with alfredo sauce and chicken. We all cleaned our plates! Inside did seem a little stuffy, but it was a beautiful day so we knew we wanted to sit outside! Next time I have guests in town we'll gladly head back! Hope others will give it try again!
(5)Emily C.
I live a mile from here and have been twice. Bad food. Great view. ONLY GO HERE FOR BEER....wine tasted old. I don't feel like wasting any more energy
(1)Benny R.
How is this place still in business? Terrible food. Horrendous service. Absurd prices. Pathetic and run down ambiance that screams 'we just don't give a f**k.' What a waste of a beautiful setting. When eating at Cedar Knoll, one feels like an extra on the set of Kitchen Nightmares, and half expects Gordon Ramsay to come barreling out of the kitchen to upbraid the owners of this run down dump.
(1)Dave S.
Just adding my $.02 in hopes of driving Cedar Knoll down from two stars to one, which is all it deserves. It's criminal that a place with such a great view has such awful, unimaginative food and has the nerve to charge two prices for it. It's a clear indication that you're dealing with a catastrophe when the menu is all over the place. If there's any justice, this place will tank and someone with vision will step in and realize the potential this place has.
(1)Anne I.
I give up! It's my 3rd time and I was hoping for something better. But, no. The view is the only good thing about this restaurant. Terrible service and it wasn't even crowded (4pm on a Sunday). The food was overpriced and not very good. Even simple things like bread -- hard/stale. Never got water refills. Had to get up from table and track down a waiter for water, coffee, desert. This is such a waste and lost opportunity. Why aren't they leveraging this location and upgrading/renovating -- maximize on the GW history, etc. Somebody please take over this restaurant and make it shine!
(1)Carolyn P.
Empty... beautiful view of the Potomac, but lacks to hold my interest. Could be a great place, but for now its nothing special.
(2)Katherine S.
The service here is awful! We called and made reservations after looking at their hours on their website which says that on Sundays they are open until 8 pm. So we made reservations for 7 pm and requested outdoor seating to enjoy the view and maybe a bit of the sunset. When we arrived at 7 pm, the doors were locked. A gentleman came and opened them and said that they were closed. When I told him we had a reservation at 7 pm he said we were lying and pointed to the sign that said they close at 7 on Sundays. I asked to speak to a manager and was told the only manager was out of town for the next three weeks. I asked if there was anyone else I could speak with the man said that the owner does not take "personal" calls. I'm still confused how this would be considered a personal call. Finally, another gentleman came by and said that they had a new hostess who did not know their hours and must have gotten confused because he had seen our reservation in the book earlier in the evening. They had our phone number so I'm not sure why nobody called when they realized the error. I understand that the restaurant was closed and it was a mistake but the staff was not at all apologetic. We don't live close to the restaurant but wanted to enjoy the patio so we made a datenight out of it, got a babysitter, got dressed up only to be disappointed and treated very rudely. So we drove into Old Town and ate at "The Warehouse" which never disappoints!
(1)Jonathan B.
Why...Why...Why.. The building and the location make this place such a sad story. So much potential..Wish I could just buy them out and run it right! Food...overprice for not even mediocre food... The inside looks like something you would see in a non updated military dining facility. Very blah.... The view is great of the Potomac...ONLY think to stop here if you want to sit outside and have a beer. Anything more, you are being ripped off. Suggestions: 1. New chef...You need interesting and quality food... 2.Gut the restaurant and redo with some taste...(hire my wife, she has a gift for interior design) 3.Make the patio a little more charming.
(1)Andy W.
In urgent need of a Gorden Ramsey Kitchen Nightmares makeover. The decor and menu would have looked stale in 1975, and the view doesn't make up for unbelievably overpriced everything and exceedingly dire food. The waiter, however, was charming and did his best with what he had (which was a great view and possibly the worst chef in the DC metro area). In. Need. Of. A. Major. Overhaul.
(1)Scott V.
So, here's the skinny. We stopped on our bicycles off the Mt. Vernon bike path, because we were hungry. We had probably the worst reubens of our lives. They were overly greasy, and it was the cheapest corned beef imaginable.The waitstaff was inattentive, and our water glasses were empty most of the time. Basically, if you want to eat and see the Potomac, bring a sandwich to the park just down the road.
(1)Susan S.
Although the view is lovely, the food is not. I ordered the 12 ounce Angus steak. It was the worst steak I ever had; Outback was a lot tastier. The waiter offered me another selection. I chose the mussels and shrimp with pasta. The mussels had sand in them. The service is great but the food given the price is not worth it.
(1)Carol K.
The views alone should give this bit of history located on the Potomac River 4 stars. But on my recent visit- the service left something to be desired and the food was only "so-so" although the people in our group who got the Reuben thought it was pretty good. Historic Cedar Knoll is located on land that was part of George Washington's plantation back in the mid 1700's. The house was actually built in the 1800's as a farmhouse for the then "tenant" farmers who worked the land. Obviously much has changed since that time- but the great location overlooking the water has not. We came for lunch on a beautiful day and were seated at the plastic tables on the river side. Seems to me that a place with this much history and in being the only place to eat on the river along the parkway would be so much better than this. Even the name evokes a nice place. But it's really just okay. The plastic outside tables reminded me of a snack bar and the menu- while it tries to cover a lot of ground- is ambitious at best. If there is a positive- it's that there are people dressed in "anything goes" from bikers biking the Parkway to business people having lunch to the tourists stopping in from Mount Vernon. So it is not pretentious in any way. Service was not good. Our server rushed us and kept asking us if we were done. I get that he probably wanted to go home but we were there to catch up over a leisurely lunch that didn't feel leisurely at all. As i mentioned- the sandwiches seemed to be the win at our table. My pork loin was covered in gravy (I asked for any sauce to be on the side) and another's steak came with potato wedges and not the mashed potatoes as was stated on the menu. But the food was okay even if it wasn't exactly the way we wanted. All in all- it was okay. I got a view of the river, something in my stomach and we were outside on a beautiful day. But I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again!
(3)Lisa P.
This restaurant is a waste of an historic property and lovely view. My family went there for Easter. I barely know where to begin on how bad the food was. Easter Brunch was $24. The "fresh" fruit cup was canned fruit cocktail. Eggs were all overdone. Omelet was burnt. Eggs Benedict had hard yolk. We waited an hour for food, and when it came, two of the orders were incorrect. Easter dinner options included frozen vegetables and premade, previously frozen veal marsala. Chicken stuffed with cheese and ham was similar to the frozen version you get at the grocery store. Cream sauce on chicken was actually pretty good, but the chicken was paired with mashed potatoes drenched in a brown gravy. Service was slow, and unfriendly. Stay far away.
(1)W H.
Escape while there is still time; Enjoy the Potomac, continue driving to another restaurant. The place was dank smelling with wrenched food; Cedar Knoll (affectionately coined by our team: "Eat-a-Troll" was the location of an important professional development event for our office staff. The restaurant was swarming with flies and our crew had to keep waving them off our person and food, and you know what that means: a source for maggots. Next to me, my colleague, ordered the Cubano sandwich, under the sandwich, there was a huge black hair! He, like many others, did not want to make a scene and just accepted this as a total loss and wrote-off the event. On the other side of me, our office coordinator for the department, indicated that the lemonade was non-potable (or undrinkable) and sent it back. The reaction of the wait staff was remarkable: "well, it's not fresh, we don't make it here" this was said with a, "what do you expect and want me to do" attitude. Our coordinator had presented to the restaurant our entire staff order well in advance of our arrival as courtesy, so that would be ready for us. We still waited well over an hour for the food with the boss waiting even longer as everyone else was eating (how awkward). I waited 30 minutes for a glass of water when I first arrived from the long journey (metro and car ride). Naturally, anyone from our team who asked for lemon with their water was denied (too much like fresh lemonade maybe?). We also pre-ordered for separate checks since this was a non-host event. The coordinator reiterated this request to the staff long before we were near finished. After the check request (some had credit cards, others cash) the staff became what appeared to be irate and rude: "it is all done, I cannot change it, you will have to settle one bill!" (Really?). I wonder if this had something to do with affixing a 20% gratuity to the total bill. When did a gratuity become non-gratuitous for service, especially since the service was almost as bad as the food. During our event and award presentation, the wait staff was loudly collecting plates, and kept shoving a dessert menu in guest faces. It was like they would not take, "no, we don't want more of the same horrid food," for an answer. It was weird, with no decorum or sensitivity to the event. Give me more tip, give me more tip. At one point, the waiter barked out a command to one of the guests to remove the empty tray from the tray stand so he could put down a second tray of uneatable food--YUCK! As for my order, I asked (remember the menu orders were sent in advance) for a grilled chicken Caesar salad with dressing on the side. What I got was a small side salad of JUST wilted Romaine lettuce covered with artificial canned Kraft (most likely not name brand) grated Parmesan cheese, with a few soggy croutons. They did not crunch in your mouth, but were like biting into a soppy used sponge. The dressing DID come on the side--A miracle and thank you! The dressing was not fresh (surprise!) and was from some restaurant supply pre-bottled mix. It smelled rancid and turned my stomach a bit and I wanted to just squeeze fresh lemon over the lettuce leaves, but you heard the lemon thing already. All I kept having was an image of Robert Irvine, inspecting the kitchen and finding a "house of horrors." Perhaps they pound raw meat near the salad fixing bar, who knows. AND the cost of the side of wilted lettuce leaves: $8.00 with mandatory tip: $10.00! It is of note, that the cost was not for a salad with Chicken that did not come, but properly priced as the "summer salad!" No price adjustment. One of my colleagues just placed her stained cloth napkin over her entire order: salty, what she called "dishwater soup," frozen store bought French fries, and I could not figure out what her main entrée was, but it looked like it needed to be laid to rest with a proper eulogy and the playing of TAPS. Fittingly, her napkin became the funeral pall. On a positive note, this place did create a memory that will be "Historic on the Potomac" for our department. So many horrible things happened that it became a comedy of errors; I have mentioned only a few. We laughed so hard on our return home, that our stomachs ached, but what we could not figure out was, if the pain was from laughing or from the food...as the boss put it: "This Rueben sandwich just seems to affectionately stick with me." Humor overcomes all obstacles--God bless you Cedar Troll!
(1)Stephan R.
I had high expectations for this place, only to be extremely let down. I don't mean to be overcritical and superficial, I have never been so moved to write a review. The Thanksgiving dinner there was atrocious! We paid way too much for this kibble. I expected the food to taste better than a frozen microwaved dinner. The salmon was undercooked and overseasoned in a drenching sauce. The turkey was rubbery, string beans undercooked, instant mashed potatoes way too salty, stuffing was a pile of goo, all doused in thick giblet gravy. Hiding the food in thick heavy sauces does not make it taste better, people. Dessert, which consisted of apple, pumpkin, or pecan pies, was of a poor consistency, too sweet, and third rate, again drenched in liquidy runny whipped cream. The service was passable and the waiters tried to be attentive. Kitchen nightmare makeover candidate!
(1)Chris F.
Just not worth it....food, service, decor...all poor. What a shame.
(1)Thad Z.
Nice spot to sit outside for a glass of wine or a beer. But inside, the food is barely average, the service is slow, and the atmosphere is dismal. There's a real opportunity here for someone to take it over and be successful...but it needs a total makeover and new kitchen staff. Where's Gordon Ramsey when you need him??
(2)Mick A.
I tried to submit this review with zero stars but you have to give it at least one. Cedar Knoll is one of the worst places I've had the misfortune of visiting. Bread rolls were like last week's leftovers, and only one small roll person at that. Food was not good at all. Slow, reluctant service. Expensive. This place is waiting to die.
(1)Minjae O.
My in-laws like to take their parents for the view, so we go to Cedar Knoll once in a while for brunch. The drive down on GW Pkwy is quite pleasant (and treacherous when trying to look at other people's nice houses along the way) and the view from their indoor dining room, as well as the outdoor patio, is great. That said, the food is so so - kind of like a second tier wedding reception food, and the place actually does weddings too, I think. While the wait staff tries hard, I do have to say the service here leaves something to be desired. I realize I'm not at a five star restaurant when dining at Cedar Knoll, but I wish the waiters would at least make the effort to serve and clear dishes without making so much noise, slamming the spoon down on my coffee saucer and hitting one plate with another to an unwelcomed harmony of brunch dishes crying in pain. "Delicate" is definitely not in their vocabulary. Like folks already said, if you happen upon it while going up and down GW Pkwy, it might be a nice place to stop by for a drink or snack, but I wouldn't go there unless you were truly in good company and willing to overlook the deficiencies of the place. Free parking is available in the back for those of you who drive.
(3)Lyns M.
The Service: We found this restaurant on a review website which stated the food and service were terrible, but the view was great. We took our chances and called ahead to ensure our two small dogs were allowed on the patio. Upon arrival, the host was extremely hesitant to seat us because we had dogs and informed us that the patio area was "full" when there were multiple clean/available tables. Another employee overheard and told the host that there was a table available outside and advised where to seat us. After we ordered (2 entrees & an appetizer) we had to ask for bread then confirm that we had in fact ordered two entrees AND an appetizer. Overall, the wait staff was nice with the exception of the host. The food: Terrible. The two small rolls they brought out were rock HARD. I gave up trying to break it open the roll when I couldn't do it with a knife or both hands. The hummus was bland and way too watery. My boyfriend's turkey burger and fries bland. The eggs benedict I ordered (without specifying how I wanted the eggs cooked) was bland and nearly hard boiled - not runny at all like EB should be. The day after: I had terrible GI issues for 3 days following lunch here. I will never eat here again, nor would I recommend this place to anyone for anything other than a bottled beer while enjoying the view. Somebody call Gordon Ramsay. STAT. This place has potential.
(1)Cynthia H.
I visited this place on a Sunday night with reservations. The place was very empty and there wasn't many people on staff. The menu had a good selection to choose from. I chose the summer on a plate with chicken. This was a large sized salad but it didn't taste as good as it sounded. The chicken came too salty and the sauce on the chicken did taste good with the salad. The service was great! We were attended to frequently, and our food came quite quickly. The bread rolls they served were not that great, but the appetizers were quite different and are worth a try. We had calamari and stuffed jalapenos which were a good selection to start the night. The staff sang happy birthday to my sister even though the restaurant was empty. I would recommend giving this place a try although the other reviewers do not seem to like it much.
(4)Warren P.
I'd previously given a positive review here. Though I'd noticed negatives, they seemed prompted by the decor and little else. My family had recently had an event here about two months ago. First, the events manager was rarely accessible, often didn't respond to e-mails, and though she repeatedly promised to show up and provide for extremely reasonable requests, she only appeared when it was time to pay the bill. The owner/manager was exceptionally rude to my wife, my sister in law, and my family. She not only refused to accommodate any of the repeated, reasonable requests which we agreed upon in our e-mails, but refused to comply with them until we were persistent. Even the pastry chef who'd brought their cake here said they'd never encountered that kind of attitude of the manager here.This was on the day of the event, mind you. The food was still good, I was surprised to find. However, the restaurant didn't staff enough, so the waiters had trouble managing the tables and handling any requests. At my own table, we had to repeatedly request coffee, sugar, and cream; they had ran out of them at some point near the end of our time there. While my family and friends still had a good time, it was in spite of this place. It's in a beautiful setting for spring and summer events, and it's very close to the Mount Vernon historic site, but now that's all I can say in its favor.
(1)Michelle S.
Pros: Location- directly across from the river- beautiful spot and the Eggs Benedict was yummy!! Cons: price of eggs benedict was over the top...I beleive it was $26, came with some potatoes and a fruit cup which I enjoyed but not for that price. I think $10.99 would have been more appropriate ($20+ I expect a buffet or something.... If the prices were more resonable I would return.) **Our waiter was nice but seemed lost-running all over the place to get items in the right persons spot..it wasn't busy so I dont get it. On another note my husband and i both asked for water when we were placing drink orders....even after reminding the waiter we only got one of the 2 waters...then My husband and I would have had another mimosa too ( I didnt taste any alcohal either-too bad...but I was never asked if I wanted more and saw the guy to be able to ask for more Needs a facelift...they could really showcase the place and make it a hot spot:)I hope they do, it has potential :)
(2)R K.
Like many other reviewers I saw this restaurant off to the right as I was driving down to Mt Vernon and thought it might be a charming place for our group of 9 (4 young children). Had I only thought of researching Cedar Knoll on Yelp before walking in! The food was not bad, but overshadowed by terrible service. Two of the four toddlers received their food and it took more than a half hour to serve the other two (let alone the additional 15 minutes it took for the adults to be served). Inattentive staff and not a mention of an apology drove this review to a single star. It might be a picturesque place to have a beer and not tax the kitchen, but I will never know.
(1)Laura G.
Zero stars, where are you? Horrible service. Bad food. Overpriced. Small, fruity, unappetizing sangria is $9! Insane. Basic salad with a bad dressing was the same price. My husband's salad came 15 minutes before he was given silverware. Very disappointing because this place has such potential. Steer clear!!! Pack a picnic and dine on their lawn. Much more enjoyable:)
(1)Boris S.
Chicken Cordon Blue $9 (2/5 NOMs) Everyone was ordering it and I just wanted to be like all the cool kids. I don't know, I was expecting a nice soft chicken with cheesy goodness. Sadly this was very bland and not cheesy gooey at all. There is plenty of cheese, it just had no swissy cheesy flavor to it. Chicken tasted dry and ham was completely overpowered by everything else. I think its a first time I didn't finish my lunch. Not something I will order again.
(2)Yasu Yori O.
We always go to this restaurant to sit outside on a beautiful day to watch the boats go by on the Potomac. We went for lunch today and it's the same dish I have--Tortilla Espagna with a glass of wine. I am a foodie so I know what some of the reviews are all about. Since it sits on a beautiful place, I wish Restaurant Eve or Inn of Little Washington would take over and make the place into a foodie destination. I am o.k with the service. I wish the food would be better to match the view.
(2)Liz G.
Super Meh. This was the closest place we could find near Mt. Vernon. Great view, but both the menu and the decor desperately need a facelift. the menu is all over the place, with an assortment of overpriced pasta dishes and Latin American appetizers. Weird. We started with hummus, which was just okay. I ordered the 'summer salad' (black beans, corn, tomatoes, red pepper, with a lime dressing) and couldn't eat more than two bites. Fortunately, the bf was willing to trade me his super sub-par Caesar salad. My dad had the quesadilla, which looked incredibly bland, and actually kinda sad on the plate. This place could seriously benefit from a Gordon Ramsey-esque intervention. The service was fine, but like, the food. Seriously... I would love to go to this place again, if they could pump up the menu. Also, they are definitely closed between 3pm and 5pm on the weekends.
(2)dawn C.
Location, location, location! If you want to sit OUTSIDE and enjoy a BEER, look at the Potomac, and possibly see an eagle or two - it can be lovely (if you overlook the lackluster tables & decor - even outside). But don't order ANYTHING else, the food is awful, and the mixed drinks just aren't right! If the owners would call Gordon Ramsay to do a complete menu and decor makeover, or sell it to someone who cares - this place could be a real hot spot! Such a WASTE of a wonderful location.
(1)Pete A.
No no no. I didn't want to go based on previous reviews but my friends were meeting there for lunch and agreed the food might not be great but the view was worth it for a few drinks. Sure the view is good, but that's it! Fried calamari appetizer was swimming in grease and the thirty or so odd pieces were stuck together to about 4 nasty clumps. 2 of my friends got a blue moon, one had an orange slice the other didn't. Cuban sandwich was poor. Granted I lived in Tampa where the Cuban sandwiches are rock star, but this was just bad. Crunchy piece of meat that shouldn't have been crunchy, seemed like they used garlic bread, mushy pickles, no saving grace. The French fries were mushy and soaked in grease as well. Halfway through our meal the umbrella on our outdoor table blew down with a gust of wind along with several neighboring tables. Even though the employees saw this happen, they were perfectly content allowing all of the patrons retrieve the umbrellas and fix them rather then lend a hand at all. The interior, forget it. This place needs a 100% overhaul. Location is great and the historic bones of this place are screaming for someone to come in and hit the reset button!
(1)John K.
Having lived near this place for a while and having seen it from the GW Parkway, we thought we would give it a try. Here's the short: WASTE OF TIME--FOR NOW. This gets two stars for the view. Period. While the staff were initially attentive, they quickly forgot about us despite the half-full venue. I think the problem is that this place caters to an over-70's crowd that yearns for their childhood dining experiences. Seriously, the only clientele here were elderly and retired. Which is exactly what this restaurant gave us: an experience that needs to move on down to Boca Raton. We shared a meat-stuffed potato concoction that had very little flavor. In fact, the salad/veg decorating the plate was the best part of the appetizer, but even that was over-dressed. We then split a fruit-dressed duck. Let's call it duck a la orange (a popular dish from the 70's) for all the fancy descriptions in the menu. The duck was overcooked and dry, the sauce was bitter. It was as though orange rinds were the feature of the dish, not the duck. The dessert menu was alarming-- WHO in their right minds puts pictures of food on their menu??? My experience in Europe tells me: crap restaurants who cater to uninspired tourists. These are the places that need pictures. Good eateries don't. However, check out Cedar Knoll website-- yep, lots of pictures of food, each plate with its own dusting of decorative lawn clippings on the rim. I digress, we got the apple tart for dessert, it was okay but had a slight tang that told me it might have been heated straight out of the freezer. Two thumbs sideways. This is a place with a phenomenal location and view, half-decent decor, *okay* staff, and unimaginative expensive food. I hope that the owners will wake up soon and learn how to run a proper establishment, OR that it shuts down and someone new takes over. Please. One day I would love to be able to eat phenomenal food, with that incredible view, and I would be willing to pay a lot for it too.
(2)Evan T.
My first impression was that the menu was far too large and the number of customers far too small (we were the only table on a Saturday night) for the food to be fresh. This was confirmed. Each plate had the same linguini and steamed (frozen) broccoli. It would've been (marginally) okay if they just called it like it was and charged $8 for the TV dinner instead of $20.
(1)